Chapter 148

"Don't misunderstand—that ram wasn't weak."

After the alcohol began to wear off, the red-haired director regained a hint of her usual "wise and mighty" demeanor; even as she curled up with closed eyes in Li Ang's arms, she guessed his thoughts and explained softly:

"At her peak, she was indeed the strongest demon beneath a true god—but she was too greedy. Unlike other demons who focused on just one or two concepts, she chose seven supreme primordial sins at once, hoping to leap directly into the rank of supreme demon god."

"Though her talent was exceptional enough to touch all seven primordial sin concepts simultaneously, her ontological rank still fell slightly short—she lacked the capacity to wield all seven at once, leaving each ability stretched dangerously thin."

"Most anomalies at her level specialize in one ability, or one primary with a minor auxiliary. Her seven concepts were nearly equal in strength, so it's normal her upper limit couldn't match theirs—or rather, with her power so scattered, barely scraping into the top hundred is already proof of her extraordinary talent."

So that's how it was…

Recalling the black goat's situation, Li Ang's eyes flickered with sudden understanding, but he quickly shook his head.

"Still, it's top hundred. The higher the rank, the harder it is to achieve. Director, you hold both No. 004 and No. 013—I'd never match them even if I gathered all the goat's parts… uh… all the Black Goat's components."

Hearing Li Ang's words, the red-haired director opened her eyes and glanced back at him lightly.

Yes, an anomaly barely scraping into the top hundred couldn't compare to No. 004's 【Twelve Ant Nests】 or No. 013's 【Slaughter Blood Hair】—but would anyone else immediately think to compare themselves to me?

"It's not necessarily inferior."

Without exposing Li Ang's unintentionally revealed "ambition," the red-haired director snuggled deeper into the warm embrace behind her, closed her eyes again, and spoke calmly:

"Anomaly numbers change. That No. 013 anomaly was originally No. 116. After it came into my hands and certain events occurred, it became No. 013."

Hearing the director's words, Li Ang couldn't help raising his eyebrows, his eyes full of curiosity as he asked:

"You jumped over a hundred ranks… Director, what did you do?"

What did I do…

The red-haired director shook her head at his question, didn't answer, but turned slightly and slid her hand into Li Ang's collar, untying the strand of hair tied around his neck. Then, pinching one end of the red hair, she gently tapped his fingertip.

【Name: Slaughter Blood Hair - 941026 (Slaughter, Crimson)】

【Appearance: A single crimson strand of hair. When carefully attuned with the soul, one perceives a faint scent of blood and the bitter curses and insults of an old man filled with hatred.】

【Ability: Slaughter Proliferation, Crimson Binding Domain】

【Cost: While conscious, you will endure endless verbal abuse from those you've killed.】

【File: After the Crimson Lord's descent failed, the former Taurus Director gathered its remains and forged this growth-type anomaly. Each time its holder kills a human, a new crimson hair capable of control grows.】

【Due to its harsh growth conditions, even after two holders over a combined 130 years of cultivation, the total number of blood hairs barely surpassed ten thousand—its effectiveness bore no proportion to the precious materials consumed, and the anomaly was once deemed a complete failure.】

【But during the Ophiuchus Corruption Incident, the third holder, Olivia, was forced to activate the anomaly 【Thirteen Ant Nests】, utterly destroying the Ophiuchus Branch and the Kingdom of East Carlevon. Overnight, the blood hairs surged to 129. million—matching the kingdom's pre-destruction population.】

【Evaluation: This is the most dangerous and terrifying anomaly you've ever seen. If the holder wishes, they can slaughter every living thing in the capital within five seconds.】

【Contamination Level: Indeterminate, increases with the number of activated blood hairs】？！！！

129. million… people?!!!

…

"It seems you already know the answer."

Sensing Li Ang's body suddenly stiffen and his arms instinctively loosen, the red-haired director sighed softly, gently pushed away his arms, rose from the warm embrace she'd long missed, and sat upright on the sofa with calm expression:

"Do you want to leave the *** Bureau?"

Gazing into Li Ang's utterly stunned eyes, the red-haired director, her cheeks still flushed with alcohol, whispered gently:

"If you wish to transfer elsewhere, the Lion Branch's director, Beverly, is close to me and very interested in your abilities. I can recommend you—her compensation will be identical to here."

"She's only overly fond of pastries—no other bizarre past. She's a genuine good person. You'd be fine there…"

"Director."

Interrupting her, Li Ang hesitated and asked:

"Thirteen Ant Nests… that's the No. 004 anomaly, right? What's the relationship between East Carlevon Kingdom and the northern Carlevon Kingdom? And what exactly was the Ophiuchus Corruption Incident?"

"About that…"

After studying Li Ang for a moment, the red-haired director's lips moved slightly, then she turned her head slightly and explained one by one:

"Thirteen Ant Nests… after East Carlevon Kingdom vanished, it's now called 【Twelve Ant Nests】, corresponding to the twelve remaining kingdoms. You can probably guess its ability without me explaining."

"As for East Carlevon Kingdom… the current Carlevon Kingdom was once called West Carlevon Kingdom. Across the river from it lies the ruins of the former East Carlevon Kingdom."

"The Ophiuchus Corruption Incident refers to the rebellion launched by the Ophiuchus Branch of East Carlevon Kingdom. Their director attempted to sacrifice the entire kingdom to ascend to godhood and turn half the world into his divine realm."

"Unable to accept this outcome, the Twelve Directors held nine rounds of voting. Ultimately, four abstained, eight voted yes, and they decided to activate 【Thirteen Ant Nests】 to destroy East Carlevon Kingdom first, forcibly crushing his plan. I was the executor."

"Since then, Thirteen Ant Nests became Twelve Ant Nests, under my custody ever since. The Bureau's branches dropped from 88 to 87, and internal investigations and controls have grown far stricter—any slight transgression is punished severely…"

So that's how it was…

After hearing the director's words, Li Ang finally pieced together the general picture, then spoke with a complex expression:

"So the people upstairs who curse you… were those from back then…"

"Exactly as you thought…"

She gave a vague reply, avoided his gaze, and added with dimmed eyes:

"Everyone who originally worked at the *** Bureau left after that. I can't blame them—they were facing over a hundred million… uh… Li Ang, if you can't accept this and want to leave, I understand your feelings."

"…"

Sitting upright on the large sofa, facing the red-haired director in silence for a while, Li Ang didn't say whether he'd leave—he asked softly instead:

"Director, may I ask you a question?"

Hearing him, the director's eyes flickered with surprise, but she nodded:

"Ask."

"Suppose there's a train about to pass through a fork…"

After a brief pause, Li Ang began:

"Twelve people are tied to the main track, one person to the side track. You hold the lever to switch tracks. Will you pull it, diverting the train to kill the one and save the twelve?"

"I…"

The red-haired director clenched her fists instinctively, but didn't answer immediately—instead, she bit her lip and asked:

"Are you talking about me? But these situations aren't the same…"

"So will you pull the lever and send the train toward the one who wouldn't have died—or do nothing and let it kill the twelve?"

So will you pull the lever to steer it toward someone who wouldn't have died otherwise, or do nothing and let the train keep hitting the twelve people?

"I… I don't know."

"Of course you don't know."

Li Ang nodded gently:

"Because you're not the one who made the choice. The voting directors were. You were merely the lever they held."

Because you're not the one at all—the board members voting are the one; you're merely the lever held in their hand.

"Thank you for your comfort…"

Seeing Li Ang's attempt to console her, the director forced a faint smile, then spoke with dimmed eyes:

"But these two things are truly different. I wasn't just a puppet following orders—I had the power to refuse to pull the lever. But I didn't refuse. I did it myself…"

"If you'd refused, you'd have been a passerby carrying a plunger. Someone else would've taken the lever, stood in your place, and sent the train down the path with only one person tied to it."

If you refuse, you're just a passerby carrying a plunger, and someone else will take up a new lever, stand in your place, and send the train down the track tied to only one person.

"Director, sometimes people really shouldn't think too highly of themselves."

Director, sometimes people really shouldn't think themselves so important.

After waiting a moment, seeing the red-haired director still tightly clamping her lips in silence, Li Ang shook his head:

"I won't say your choice was right, or that those sacrificed would've died anyway, so better they died by your hand saving others, or that you did what you should've done."

"If I'd been a citizen of East Carlevon Kingdom, I'd have cursed you from upstairs too—harsher than anyone else, cursing the entire Bureau, wishing you all got crushed by carriages tomorrow, run over seven or eight times."

"But now, since I'm one of the twelve tied to the original track—saved by your choice—I have no right to curse you. Even those who left the Bureau—they could choose to leave you, but they had no right to condemn you."

"You really… others have tried to comfort me, but no one's ever spoken like you…"

The director shook her head with a strange expression, gazing at Li Ang—though weak in power, his inner strength seemed greater than hers—and asked:

"What about you? What would you do? Let the train keep going and kill the twelve?"

"I'd first find the person who tied them down, then shove his head into the train's boiler."

"You're… how can you cheat?"

"I'm not cheating. That's genuinely what I'd do."

Li Ang shook his head, meeting her slightly indignant gaze with serious eyes:

"Director, I'm a man with little sense of security. Since learning the truth of this world, I've craved power—desperately, desperately so!"

"And the main reason I seek power is to have the strength to kill the bastards who tie people down—so I never have to face these impossible choices with no right answer."

"But what if… after doing everything you can, you still face this situation?"

Then… what if you've done everything you could, but still face this kind of problem?

Li Ang hesitated, then pulled something from his chest and showed it to the director.

"I look at which side my family is tied to—I flip the train to the other side, then calmly endure the curses of over a hundred million people, drink like you do every day, so I won't hear their voices when I'm sober."

I'll just look at which side my family is tied to, then yank the train to the other side, endure the curses of over a hundred million people, and drink like you do every day—just so I won't have to face the pain of being cursed while sober.

Seeing the small bottle in Li Ang's hand, the director shook her head helplessly, half-amused, half-exasperated:

"So you're just like me? You're really…"

"It's the same, yes."

Uncapping the bottle and taking a sip, Li Ang smiled helplessly:

Unscrew the cap and drink

After taking a sip, Li Ang smiled helplessly

"If you've done your utmost and still can't solve the problem, what else can you do? Running away may be shameful, but it's useful, isn't it?"

"Yes! It really is useful!"

Looking at the tiny, glittering bottle in Li Ang's hand, the Red-haired woman's eyes curled into a smile, joining his laughter—her lips still tinged with wine-red, like a rhododendron blooming in a garden.

The curses at her ears remained wild and shrill; the weight on her heart still pressed like storm clouds; the deep shame that had always tormented her still cut as sharply and coldly as a blade, piercing flesh and blood with no less pain than before.

But for some reason, her fear had suddenly lessened—if she had to find a reason, it was because someone not only respected her choice, but also accepted her weakness and her escape.

Hmm… at a time like this, she really should drink something!

She snatched the tiny bottle from Li Ang's hand, tilted her long neck, and drained it in one gulp. Then she licked the faintly spicy wine clinging to her lips, hurled the empty bottle aside, and, emboldened by the liquor, declared with bold cheer:

"Perfect—I just borrowed money from Emma today! Come on! I'll treat you to drinks! The most expensive ones!"

…

*** The staff at this branch are truly… disgraceful!

After knocking for a long time without response, the two investigators peered through the director's office window and saw mountains of empty bottles on the floor, and a man and woman curled up together under a blanket, snoring loudly. They shook their heads, then simultaneously pulled out their investigation forms, wrote a few lines, and casually marked two large red X's.

The director leads the drinking! Engages in all-night debauchery! Suspected of illicit relations within the branch! Setting aside the Lyne Blood Night incident, the department's morale and performance rating must be drastically downgraded!